DALLAS - Kaia Saylor turned in a monster 27-kill, 15-dig performance and Bailey Wozniak narrowly missed a triple-double with 10 kills, 37 assists, and seven digs, but the Texas Woman's University volleyball team (0-3, 0-3 Lone Star Conference) dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to Dallas Baptist (1-5, 1-4) on Tuesday night at the Burg Center. 

"We had a terrific performance from Kaia Saylor tonight, but generally just made too many errors to win the game," said head coach Jeff Huebner. "When we are good we are incredibly tough, but in those moments of chaos we are going to improve our decision making and be an incredibly challenging program to compete with."

The opening set saw the Pioneers jump out to a 7-3 advantage before DBU used a 7-0 run behind the service of Kayla Brock to take a 10-7 advantage. Saylor and Elizabeth Ugbaja notched back-to-back kills to pull TWU to within 10-9, before DBU pushed ahead again. The Patriots took a 23-15 advantage in the set and appeared to have things in hand, when Trixie Oche's kill put Tabitha Spray serving, and the senior served six consecutive points to pull TWU to within 23-22. However, DBU was able to close out the set with back-to-back kills to take the opening set 25-23. 

Again, the Pioneers jumped ahead in the second set, taking advantage of three DBU errors to grab an 11-6 lead. DBU charged back and forced ties at 14-14 and 15-15 before using a four-point run to claim a 19-16 lead. TWU tied the set at 22-22 before DBU scored a pair to earn set point. After one ball-handling error, the Patriots used the kill to close out their second conscutive 25-23 set victory and jump ahead 2-0. 

The two teams exchanged leads in the early portion of the third set before TWU scored six straight to jump ahead 14-10. While the Patriots were able to keep the set close, the Pioneers did not let down and used a kill by Wozniak to pull the match to within 2-1 after a 25-21 victory in the third set. 

DBU surged ahead in the fourth set, claiming a 14-8 lead after a 5-0 run, but the Pioneers fought back down the stretch, tying the set at 24-24. After DBU set up match point after a Pioneers error, TWU reeled off three straight to capture a 27-25 win in the fourth set and set up the decisive fifth set. 

A back-and-forth opening to the fifth set gave way to daylight for Dallas Baptist, as the Patriots used a kill to tie the set at 10 and score four more points to take a commanding 14-10 lead in the final set. The Pioneers held strong and forced three match points, but DBU was able to close out the final set at 15-12. 

Hitting efficiency was relatively even for both teams with DBU holding a slight advantage, .125 to .120. While TWU held a 61-49 advantage in kills and an 11-8 advantage in service aces, the Pioneers committed 39 errors to the Patriots' 28. 

The two teams will conclude their series on Wednesday, February 10, with a 7 p.m. match in Dallas. 

-PIONEERS-